English at Christ Church
Our approach to teaching English is rooted in our Christian vision that every child is a unique gift from God and shaped by our core values of Love, Faith and Hope. At Christ Church, we believe English is central to enabling pupils to understand themselves, connect with others and engage confidently with the wider world. Our curriculum is designed not only to develop strong reading, writing and communication skills, but also to nurture confident, reflective and empathetic learners. This approach aligns closely with our wider curriculum intent and reflects the strong emphasis within our SEF on language development, foundational knowledge, inclusion and cultural capital.
Vision-Driven Curriculum
Our English curriculum is carefully designed to ensure that all pupils feel represented, valued and inspired through the texts they encounter. We choose high-quality and diverse texts that celebrate individuality, broaden pupils’ understanding of the world and reflect the rich diversity of our school community. This supports pupils in developing both a strong sense of identity and respect for the experiences of others.
Leaders have deliberately selected texts and curriculum content that reflect pupils’ backgrounds while also extending their cultural understanding beyond their immediate experiences. This contributes to pupils’ personal development, empathy and cultural capital.
Reading as a Priority
Reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We prioritise the development of accurate, fluent and confident readers through a carefully sequenced approach beginning in Nursery and Reception. The systematic teaching of phonics through Read Write Inc. enables pupils to develop secure foundational knowledge and strong early reading skills. Targeted intervention and one-to-one tutoring ensure pupils who need additional support are quickly identified and supported to “keep up.”
As pupils move through the school, they are exposed to increasingly rich and challenging texts which develop comprehension, vocabulary and disciplinary reading skills. Participation in the EEF Deepening Reading project has strengthened teachers’ use of reading strategies across the curriculum and continues to support improvements in pupils’ understanding and engagement with texts.
Writing with Purpose
Our writing curriculum is carefully sequenced so pupils progressively build the transcriptional and compositional knowledge required to become confident writers. Teachers explicitly model vocabulary, sentence construction and writing techniques, using shared and guided writing to support pupils before moving towards increasing independence.
Pupils write regularly across the curriculum, applying their knowledge in meaningful contexts. This helps pupils build stamina, fluency and confidence while ensuring writing is purposeful and connected to wider learning. Recent whole-school work on strengthening transcription skills, including handwriting and spelling, reflects leaders’ commitment to securing strong foundations in English.
Language, Oracy and Inclusion
We recognise that communication and language are fundamental to pupils’ success across the curriculum. A strong focus on vocabulary development, oracy and purposeful classroom discussion ensures pupils develop confidence in speaking, listening, reading and writing. This is particularly important within our highly diverse community, where many pupils speak English as an additional language.
Teachers use adaptive teaching strategies, including modelling, scaffolding and targeted questioning, to ensure all pupils can access the curriculum successfully. Pupils with SEND and EAL are supported effectively through carefully tailored provision, targeted interventions and strong relationships with families and external professionals. As a result, pupils increasingly access the full curriculum alongside their peers and achieve well from their starting points.
Developing the Whole Child
Through English, pupils are encouraged to think deeply about themes, characters and experiences, making meaningful links to our values of Love, Faith and Hope. Discussions promote reflection, empathy and critical thinking, helping pupils explore questions about fairness, resilience, identity and relationships.
Classrooms are inclusive spaces where pupils’ voices are valued and diversity is celebrated. Teachers encourage pupils to share their ideas, experiences and perspectives with confidence, creating a culture where every child feels heard and respected.
In this way, our approach to English goes beyond academic achievement. It helps pupils develop confidence, curiosity and compassion while preparing them to participate thoughtfully and successfully in modern Britain and the wider world.
Phonics at Christ Church
Read Write Inc Phonics Scheme
Read, Write, Inc is a phonics scheme designed and developed by Ruth Miskin, one of the country’s leading authorities on teaching children to read. The programme aims to create fluent readers, willing writers and confident speakers. As a school, we have recently invested in this resource because we want our children to learn to read as quickly as possible, and then read widely and become lifelong readers.
Five key principles underpin the teaching in all Read Write Inc. sessions:
1) Participation – As they are in small groups, children participate fully in every session. They are able to maintain high levels of concentration and they do not miss key elements of the teaching.
2) Praise – Children work together as partners. They take turns to teach and praise each other. They are motivated by praise from their teachers and teaching assistants.
3) Pace – Sessions never drag. The lively pace keeps every child fully engaged and on task.
4) Purpose – Every instructor has been trained in Read Write Inc. methods. They know the purpose of each activity, and how it leads into the next.
5) Passion – Instructors, too, become passionate about their teaching as they see the children enjoying the progress they are making.
Staff are being trained to teach using RWI and to carry out the programme effectively with small groups of children. These groups are organised according to their specific needs, and the specific sounds and letters are taught in fun and engaging ways.
Each session will last about 20 minutes rising to an hour and includes a variety of activities delivered with pace and rigor. Children will have the opportunity to learn sounds that are reinforced during the session with reading and writing activities – learning is then put into practice.
As children progress through the levels, they will be regularly assessed to ensure they are placed in groups most appropriate for them. Children may also be ‘fast-tracked’ to a more able group when their progress warrants this.
Reading at Christ Church
Once children can blend sounds to read words, they begin reading books matched closely to the phonics and tricky words they know. This helps build confidence, fluency and enjoyment in reading.
Teachers regularly read a wide range of stories, poems and non-fiction texts to children to develop vocabulary, comprehension and a love of reading. Reading skills are further developed through guided, shared and individual reading sessions across the school.
Until the end of Year 2, children are taught in reading groups matched to their current stage so teaching is carefully targeted to their needs. Some older pupils may continue to access Read Write Inc. or Fresh Start support to further develop and consolidate reading skills. Progress is monitored regularly to ensure children receive the right level of challenge and support, including additional intervention where needed.
How long will it take to learn to read well?
Every child is different and children will learn to read at different speeds. By the end of Year 2, most children will be able to read aloud books that are at the right level for his or her age. In Year 3 and beyond, we concentrate more on helping children to understand what they are reading, although this work begins very early on.
What can Parents/carers do to help?
When your child starts Reception, you will be invited to a meeting so that we can explain how we teach reading and show you the resources we use. During the meeting, there are lots of suggestions on how you can help your child to read. Your support really does get your child off to a flying start and encourages them to make great progress!
You can help your child to sound out the letters in words and then to ‘blend’ the sounds together to make a whole word. Try not to refer to the letters by their names. Help your child to focus on the sounds. You can hear how to say the sounds correctly by searching on YouTube for ‘Read Write Inc. Phonemes Pronunciation Guide’
Sometimes your child might bring home a picture book that they know well. Please don’t say, ‘This is too easy.’ Instead, encourage your child to tell you the story out loud; ask them questions about things that happen or what they think about some of the characters in the story.
Make reading fun! Remember to keep reading to your child. They will come across far more adventurous words than they will in their early reading books. You will be helping them to grow a vast vocabulary and understand the meaning of different stories etc. It will also encourage them to love books and want to read more!
Luke 2:52 – ‘And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favour.'